Martin Skrtel says that Slovakia will not make the mistake of focusing only on Gareth Bale

Martin Skrtel says that Slovakia will not make the mistake of focusing only on Gareth Bale when his team takes on a place in the Euro 2016 group game.

Bale is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars of Euro 2016. He played an influential role in Real Madrid’s success in the Champions League a few weeks ago. His presence has been a major factor in Wales qualifying for the first European Championship as a nation. It is a proud moment given that they were unable to achieve this feat even when they had great players like Ryan Giggs and George Best on board.

Even though Bale is a shining star in the squad, Skrtel says that the former Tottenham winger is not the only threat. Just like Wales, Slovakia are also going into the first European Championship. Skrtel will have the responsibility of captaining the team. The 31-year-old will have to forget his disastrous season with Liverpool and focus on the next three weeks. Skrtel’s poor form forced manager Jurgen Klopp todrop him from the Liverpool first-team and he has never recovered. Skrtel is widely expected to leave Liverpool after more than five years at the club. For the moment, though, he is concentrating on the upcoming game with Wales.

"Of course Bale is world class, but it is not only him, the Wales team is not only Bale. There are more players, a lot of individuals, so we will have to watch them all and analyse their game. I believe that we will be ready. Everybody knows Bale, I have my Liverpool teammate, Joe Allen, [Aaron] Ramsey from Arsenal, so I think that they are all really good players. They play in the Premier League which is a sign that they are really good, and they have already proved that by qualifying," said Skrtel.